5 Things We've Learned About Brooklyn Nets in Their Inaugural Season

“You can take the Nets out of New Jersey, but can you take New Jersey out of the Nets?” is a question WFAN’s Steve Somers is fond of asking. It’s a good question.

There are a few things we’ve learned so far about the Brooklyn Nets this inaugural season, but the answer to Mr. Somers’ query is not one of them. After two games, this group looks a little bit like the same old Jersey devil.

The over-hyped Nets eked out a final minute seven-point win against the Toronto Raptors in their home opener.

Two days later, in typical New Jersey fashion, they let a 22-point third quarter lead slip away to Minnesota. The injury-depleted Timberwolves limped away with an 11-point win.

The Nets are lucky they didn’t have to face the scorching-hot New York Knicks in that postponed first game of the season, too.

1. The Brooklyn Crowd Rocks Compared to New Jersey's

The New Jersey Nets were an NBA laughing stock for much of their history, and in particular the past five years. The fans stayed away in droves, even when the team was good.

How poor a fanbase was New Jersey’s?

Making the postseason from 2001-02 through 2006-07, and the Finals those first two years, could not lift the Nets’ home attendance from one of the worst in the league. Over the first 10 years of the decade (2001-02 through 2010-11), the Nets, according to sportslistoftheday.com, had the fourth lowest total attendance in the NBA.

Poor showings prompted pundits like the mouthofthemidwest to ask “Are 1,000 people considered a crowd?”

"Let's just start with the fact that we're in Brooklyn now and it's a big difference," Johnson said. "You saw the crowd tonight, even under the circumstances. Not only did we have a sellout, they were into the game."

Gerald Wallace is still the most intriguing element in the Nets’ chemical composition, a free radical with the power to shape their still-evolving identity. Wallace is the Nets’ hustle, their strength, their grit and their versatility. He can guard three positions and anchor a small lineup.

And look what happened when he was out of the lineup against the Timberwolves: Brooklyn lost.